Lawless life a nightmare

First Place - Short Story 2023

Okay, I admit it ... I'm a lawless rebel who shouldn't be allowed to drive the streets; no sense of respect for our men in blue or the laws they desperately try to uphold. What I am trying to do is confess my criminal actions, right here, in print, for the entire world to see.

I forgot to inspect my car.

There. I've said it. I feel much better. I've got that tremendous burden off my chest and maybe now I can sleep again.

I'm not normally the defiant type, but this time other things just got in the way. Remembering to inspect your auto is a lot like remembering to renew your license -- if you don't look at it every day it slips your mind. And that's what happened. I became preoccupied with other things and, poof, instantly I become a lawless dissident. I know I'm not the only one who has fallen victim to this kind of behavior. On the contrary, thousands of people every month do the same thing. But I have a conscious and it became very bothered.

Traveling the streets of my hometown became a nightmare. Every time I passed a police officer I cringed. Hoping, no, praying that his eyesight wasn't keen enough to spot my out-of-date sticker.

Before long, I was taking the long way to work, careful not to pass in front of the sheriff's office. Normal trips to the store became a perilous excursion. Far away trips were out of the question. Fear became a constant companion. I dramatized what I would say if I should happen to be stopped by an officer. I was going to play it cool and tell him the truth -- tell him I simply forgot. Naaah. He'd never buy that. I'm sure other equally-naive criminal minds had used that one before. No. I had to come up with a good excuse.

Then it hit me, a perfect alibi for my terrible memory, I'd explain that my car was part of a...

About then I bolted straight upright in bed, beaded in a cold sweat. Could this have been a dream? No. It felt too real. Hurriedly I dressed and darted outside. The little square sticker on my windshield informed me I still had a few days left. I stumbled back inside, exhausted and relieved and fell back into bed, content in the knowledge I would not hesitate to renew my inspection sticker when the time came.

It's that kind of nightmare that'll take the word procrastination, right out of a person's vocabulary. Permanently.

Looking West

This is a picture I captured on the way to Rotan, going to the funeral of a very dear friend's parent. It is located on Hwy 380, just west of Newcastle, TX.

I entered it into an art show sponsored by my company as a part of the 'On My Own Time' art and literature competition from the Business Council for the Arts.

It won 'People's Choice' in 2023 out of about 100 entries.